A School of Thought on the Right Track

Let's start off that the regularly schedule every other Monday Meeting of the Selectmen, to be held Tuesday, was held in the East Room instead of the Town Banquet Hall, i.e. the big room on the first floor.  Seems the Planning Board, which does in fact meet regularly on Tuesday nights, had a public hearing scheduled for hearing on its regular night, at its regular meeting place, at its regular time.

Now I was faced with the dilemma of attending the meeting in person or getting a delayed view some other time this week.  I decided at the very last minute to go, except I discovered it was the very last minute, but rather I was an hour early.

Seems different night, different time.  So much for the same Bat Channel theory.

Okay, no one to blame but myself for not reading the notice of meeting correctly and screwing up the date, time and place.  

Rather than wait the hour, I decided to heck with it, and went home.  But did I stay home?

Bummer I know, but nonetheless the reality.

One thing I haven't touched upon lately is the new elementary school.  Seems like despite all the rumors, and known maneuvering, or more appropriately attempted maneuvering by some, the financial meter on that one has run far enough up that stopping it is a near impossibility.  While I learned a long time ago to never say never, stopping the one school seems to be a realistic possibility only in Pan land.  Shovel ceremony coming real soon.  

So ....

I couldn't help myself, and I went back for the 7:30 meeting.  Now I didn't stay to the very last minute.  I left when the announcement was made for the next meeting, and presumably the only things left to discuss were the executive session matters.  Nothing said about the secret while I was there.  It would be very interesting if anything was raised after I left.

Okay, back to the secret, because from what I am hearing it isn't really a secret anymore.  Whether this actually got addressed at the meeting last night time will tell, as will whether it actually happens, but the plot goes like this: a third party has made a tentative offer to house the tourism department for free in the center.  

That being said, and should the majority of selectmen decide that this be the proper avenue to take, so be it.  I don't know enough about the particulars to give a definitive yea or nay from my personal perspective, however I would say nay.  And there will be plenty to say why if it happens.

I will adopt a reserved approach for the moment however.  Let this one play itself out, if in fact it actually happens.

Quite frankly tourism has become the red herring for those who wish to deflect attention from the academy building and its full time, no rent paying, non-town entity "tenant".  Do anything and everything to keep tourism out of the academy building and maybe, just maybe they will leave the historical society alone.  

Not a chance.

A brief but interesting discussion about the Community Nurses happened last night.  By the way all three selectmen renewed the annual lease for them.  It was touched upon whether that outfit and the town's arrangement was essentially fair, as was the brief mention of the state agency with a written rental agreement.

Strangely omitted, not one word about the historical society and the lack of any agreement with it. No talk at all about whether its arrangement with the town is fair.  Of course you need to have an actual arrangement before you can talk about it.

Seems a few things done with very little talk.

A proposal submitted from another group, at the end of the day apparently, requesting support and signed.  Not to worry though.  There is no cost to the town, yet.  Amazing how often these things come in at the very last minute.  

The discussion relative to change in liability insurance, while I may agree in principal with the ultimate decision, might have merited more discussion.  What wasn't part of the discussion on insurance, and will be and soon, is the significant change that occurred to the town's group insurance (i.e. health insurance).

This has become public information, although many in the public are unaware of it.  I understand that the matter has been touched upon briefly by another committee, more as a note of information than anything else.

It seems that SMEC has decided to leave participation in the town's group plan.  This is a very big rock being dropped in a very small pool of water.

Why is it leaving?  Well, seems that it has found less expensive coverage.

Time will tell whether losing those members results in a few rocky waves or a tsunami, a very short period of time.  There will be more on this I am sure.

Speaking of something that will rock the boat,

You need to read the article on page A6 of today's Standard Times.

It addresses recent efforts by the New Bedford Mayor and our own State Rep. to tie funding for South Coast rail to the Taunton Casino.  It is a bold move and the right one to do.  Whether it is successful or not will depend greatly on whether the right political moves have been and can be made.

The failure to make sure that proper traffic issues are dealt with for a casino in Taunton could very well prove disastrous for New Bedford and the area, and the casino itself.

whether this move turns out to be the best track to take will depend a great deal on whether there in fact is a casino in Taunton, and if the players not only have enough political chips amassed to get into a game of Holdem, but have the skill needed to make it to the last table.

Not included in the article are the sentiments of the House and Senate leadership behind idea.  The Massachusetts legislature has very specific rules, and if you don't follow them, you got no chance at the gold bracelet.